Saturday, August 5, 2017

After running myself through the ringer with takeoffs and landings in the 172, I opted for a bit more fun in the venerable Cub. With time to spare there was no reason to skip some fun in the air. She'd flown earlier so, after pulling the plane out of the hangar and completing my preflight, it only took one pull of the blade to hand-prop the old Continental to life.

I first headed off over the lake for a little practice. My steep turns were better than when I did them with Jamie last month; I think I even caught my wake once. Then I slowed down, pulled on the carb heat, and did a bit of slow flight to see how slow I could move across the ground. It's been too long since I did any stalls solo, so I brought the throttle to idle, pointed the nose higher, and held back on the stick as the nose broke earthward. I was actually a bit surprised how well the stalls went after such a long break; I must've been well-coordinated as the nose didn't roll at all.

You don't need much more than this to have a good time

Feeling comfortably current in my stick and rudder skills, it was time to put them to use attacking everyone's favorite sanitary substrate (old yet requisite disclaimer here). I climbed up to 5,500 feet, slowed down, tossed the roll out the door, and set up to begin my series of passes. At first, I was quite effective and cut the white streamer with ease. Then I somehow completely lost track of it; it took 45-60 seconds and a series of wide turns before I finally spotted it again. I pulled the throttle to idle, pointed the nose down, and clipped it again as my airspeed built up. With the target acquired, I made a couple more passes and caught the shortening streamer once more before I had to call it off due to altitude.

By this point, I'd been flying for about 30 minutes and I wanted to get in some takeoffs and landings before my time with the plane was up. It took roughly 10 minutes to get back into the pattern at Stewart. My plan, as usual, was to make three laps around the pattern to extend my tailwheel currency.

I made five laps.

My first, second, and fifth landings were great. However, I had to add power on the third after I flared too high. The next time around I pulled the stick back a touch too far in the flare and the tailwheel hit the ground before the mains. Neither landing was terrible but I really hate ending a practice flight on a bad note, so I kept going and nailed it on the fifth.

So, for the first time in essentially a year, I'm decently competent at flying both the Cub and the Skyhawk again. One can of course always practice and improve but I think I've removed most of the rust acquired over the past twelve months. Now I've just got to get the little one up for her first airplane ride!

What do you do when mom and baby are out of town for the day? You fly, of course. Couple that with a list of local airports you've never landed at despite being a pilot for over eight years and you've got yourself a mission!

It's already been over a month since I last flew. Much better than earlier this year, but still more of a gap than I'd like. So this seemed like a good way break up the takeoff ans landing practice with a (tiny) bit of pilotage and navigation.

I popped into about half the airports around Dayton today

I departed Stewart and first landed at Moraine Airpark (I73) for the first time since 2009. Coming over the levee on very short final, the rising air caused me to briefly float down the runway before touching down relatively softly. Takeoff was smooth and I climbed straight out to 1,700 feet (per the A/FD and sign at the end of the runway) before turning north.

The first new airport was Dahio Trotwood (I44), a notably run down strip that's so desolate it's a tad hard to spot from the air at first. The runway is so cracked that I deemed it smart to first do a low approach and check for any obvious problems or obstructions. I didn't see anything that would preclude a landing so I circled back around and landed on Runway 22. It's an interesting place - corn rises up on both sides so you can't see much of anything once settled on the as-bumpy-as-expected runway. I back-taxied and departed on the same runway without ever seeing any signs of life.

Next up was Phillipsburg (3I7), which was acquired by a local business owner a few years ago to prevent closure of the airport. It's not the busiest place but here there were clear signs of life; a Cherokee called in 10 miles away when I was in the pattern and landed after me. The runway is pretty narrow (reminds me a little of 45G in Brighton, MI) and the shifting winds during my roundout led to probably the worst landing of the day. Again, I back-taxied after the Cherokee was clear and took off again on the shortest leg of the day.

My final new airport was Brookville Air-Park (I62) and it's only a very short 3.4 nm flight from Phillipsburg. This is another unique, lightly used local strip. The runway and airport are actually separated by a road; to cross you pull up to a gate that opens and there are stop signs to remind you to yield to the cars driving by. You also pass quite close to some tall trees off your left wing when landing on Runway 27. The pavement is somewhat bumpy but my touchdown was reasonably smooth; again, I back-taxied down the runway and took off to continue my little local adventure.

Since I'd be passing right by Wright Brothers (MGY) and haven't landed there in nearly a year, I planned it as my final stop on the way home. It's 19 nm from Brookville so I had a few minutes of level cruise to just enjoy the view and relax. The pattern was busy as usual; I crossed midfield behind two other planes in the pattern to land on Runway 20. I landed a tad firm in the slight crosswind. Seeing two or three other planes lined up on the taxiway while I was in the pattern, I'd decided not to wait in line. As soon as the flaps were raised up, I pushed full throttle back in and was soon flying the final leg back to Stewart.

Before long, I was back in Waynesville. I spotted one of the jump planes quickly descending and called him on the radio to say I had him in sight and would follow him in - they have a way of zooming thru the pattern like rockets. I turned slightly right, then circled back to enter a 45 for a left downwind to Runway 26. With the wind almost directly down the runway, my final approach was stable and smooth and I touched down smoothly a few hundred feet past the threshold.

This was a lot of fun. I've been meaning to pop into some of these airports for years and I'm glad to finally have done so. I still want to try out the road-crossing at Brookville so I'll have to land there again some day. Just as exciting and important, I could feel the rust coming off the more I threw myself into both new and familiar situations. I think I'm now current enough in the 172 that Mariella's first flight will soon be in the cards...

Monday, July 3, 2017

It's been some time since I sat in the left seat of the Skyhawk, nearly 10 months in fact. Our return flight from Boston via Albany last year is the last time I was behind 14L's controls. Aside from the general lack of currency, I'd like to take Mariella for her first flight soon - and to do that, I need to be able to competently fly the 172 again.

Jamie texted me the other day to let me know he had an opening, as we've been trying to set this up for a couple weeks. I did a thorough preflight while we chatted on the ground. There was more than two hours of fuel onboard so once I fired up the O-300 we were ready to fly.

It was another great summer afternoon for aviating

I took off on Runway 26 and made two laps around the pattern. I came in a little low on the first one but managed to finish the approach with a smooth landing. The next time around was more stable and the landing was again quite soft. We then departed the pattern to the east, climbing up over the lake to do a few steep turns. While all were borderline acceptable, they were far from my finest. I'll have to put in a bit more time working on maneuvers next time I'm up in the sky practicing solo.

Today's vaguely triangular route across the countryside

Wanting to practice on pavement and having not been there in a while (the logbook says May 2013 when we met pilot friend Samuel there, in fact!) we decided to land at Greene County. I came in a tad fast and landed long but the touchdown was smooth. Lifting off again on Runway 25 on the subsequent takeoff, Jamie pulled the power and I touched back down on the pavement during the simulated engine failure. I departed again sans instructor shenanigans and climbed back to 2,000 feet and headed straight for Waynesville.

My final landing was probably the best of the bunch, with my speeds on target and a soft touchdown followed by the shortest rollout of the day. Similar to the Cub, it's crazy just how much flying the 172 is like riding a bike... it came right back to me even after a lengthy break. Obviously there's more than stick and rudder skills when it comes to currency but I'm looking forward to getting up again soon.

Tuesday, June 20, 2017

When it comes to the overarching purpose behind this blog - flying - this past year has clearly been underwhelming. But life - and, alas, flying - is nothing if not a constant struggle to find and maintain equilibrium between opposing forces. So it's in that vein that this past year has also been overwhelmingly joyful and momentous on a personal level with the birth of our first child.

Still managing to squeeze in one Young Eagles flight; it's always rewarding to be able to take kids up in a small airplane for the first time

Given my extreme lack of currency that I only recently remedied, this is the first year I've truly missed my annual birthday flight. And with an infant at home, it's also the first time I've ever flown it solo. However, I'll be damned if I completely break the tradition, so getting up in the Cub one month late this evening absolutely kept it alive in my book.

You couldn't have scripted much better weather

Door wide open, enjoying the lush scenery in every direction

The winds decided to get gusty (to 15-16 knots) just as I arrived at Stewart around 6 pm. So I ended up hanging around on the ground for a little while until they calmed back down. In an unusual move for the 65 hp Cub, it did not want to start this evening. However, after probably ten minutes of hand-propping and cycling through a combination of settings, it finally fired up without a care in the world. These old engines certainly have minds of their own at times.

With a still-decent wind blowing almost directly down the runway, my takeoff roll was short and I was quickly climbing westward. Between the light plane and good headwind aloft, I was at pattern altitude (800 feet AGL) before I was even able to turn crosswind on all but one takeoff. I threw in one short field takeoff for fun good practice and was airborne in less than the distance between one set of runway cones.

I know it sounds improbably full of horse manure, but my landings were darn near perfect every time around the pattern. Honestly. Other than the one time I made a simulated engine-out and bounced slightly, every touchdown was a true three-point greaser. Maybe the headwind helped but my stick and rudder skills in the roundout and flare were on point tonight.

Turning towards Caesar Creek Lake

After four takeoffs and landings, I flew north of the airport and passed over a friends' house. Unlike most times I pass over, I saw someone outside, so I circled around and heartily waved the wings before I flew away. Texting them later to ask if they saw me they said yes, their daughter saw the airplane and ran inside to get them to come out and wave. It's the small things... :)

The shadows were getting longer as the sun was getting lower

More lush greenery along the Little Miami River

Before what seemed like very long, it was time to get back to the airport as my reserved block of time was almost up. I'd been flying just about an hour as I entered the pattern for the final time. Keeping with the prior performance, the wheels softly touched down on the green grass; a short rollout and taxi later, I was pushing the plane back into the hangar.

If I didn't have to work for a living, this would be the perfect life

Tradition-keeping and flying practice aside, tonight was a very nice and much-needed mental reprieve. Work has been kind of insane and, while we're lucky that Mariella's truly a very calm and easy baby as babies go, any parent who doesn't admit to needing a little "me time" on occasion is probably lying. Getting up in the sky solo is perhaps still the only way for me to cut everything out and completely focus on something I love for an hour or two.

I did of course rush right home afterwards to see the adorable little girl waiting for her daddy.

Mariella Margaret is already looking skyward, it seems

Next up is getting current in the 172 so we can take this future aviatrix on her first flight. While I do plan on introducing her to the venerable Piper Cub when she's ready, I'd prefer we start out in the safety of a car seat. This new father certainly wants to protect his precious little girl!

Thursday, June 8, 2017

I can still fly an airplane! I mean, yes, you're technically always a pilot once you receive your certificate. And I didn't exactly think I'd forgotten how to fly. Nonetheless, after 8 months (by far the longest hiatus since my checkride) without flying and nearly 10 months since my last Cub excursion I finally got back in the cockpit this evening. I didn't even break anything.

Why such a lack of flying? Well, as I mentioned in my sole post thus far this year, we had a baby on the way. Well, she was on the way - our daughter Mariella was born back in April and is adorable, healthy, and altogether a pretty darn good baby if I do say so myself. We hope to take her on her first flight sooner than later! Anyway, between the major life changes, work, and my usual downturn in flying during the cold, dark winter months it simply took a while to get myself back down to Stewart.

Could tonight have been any more perfect for Cubbin? I vote no.

Given the painfully long gap in aviating, I of course needed to fly with an instructor. Jamie was available and he met me a bit past 7:30. By the time he walked over to the hangar, I'd already completed a very thorough preflight and pushed the plane out onto the soft, green, almost-summer grass.

We chatted for a few then I climbed in, he hand-propped the engine, and I taxied over to top off the fuel tank. Propeller turning again, I ran through my pre-takeoff checklist then pulled onto Runway 26 and managed a pretty soft and smooth takeoff to the west. Jamie had me climb out over the lake and we first went through some turns. Then he just let me fly around for a bit and do some sightseeing before eventually re-entering the pattern.

Landings are usually where rust is most apparent, at least for me. I reminded (warned?) Jamie that, in my experience, I usually either grease the landings or totally muck them up after an extended break. He, in turn, said he'd be happy to laugh at me if I really screwed the pooch.

Fittingly, the first approach and landing were exceptionally smooth. Jamie said he was upset he didn't have a chance to laugh. Nice guy. I was cautiously optimistic. Two more laps around the pattern fortunately did nothing to temper the optimism; I nailed all three landings and my takeoffs became smoother each time.

Cubs, grass, and blue sky just belong together, don't they?

Maybe the giant break served to erase my mental sight picture so well that, with the luck of nailing it that first time, I had no bad habits and instantly re-established good ones. Or maybe it's just that Cubs are easy to fly. Either way, there's still nothing better than a Cub with the door open on a warm evening.

Well, except perhaps being able to fly a Cub solo with the door open on a warm evening again.